Acufeed Walking Foot System on the Janome M7

Here's a bit of a video from the Clubhouse on using the Acufeed on the Janome M7. It's a pretty simple process...but there's a bit of a trick to using it with decorative stitches or anything other than a straight stitch.


 

Have an M7 or other bigger Janome? Want to learn more about its features and how it can help you make the most of your sewing time? My AmyQuilts Clubhouse gives you lessons with a Janome dealer (me) without having to even leave home!

Check it out here: AmyQuilts Clubhouse

The AmyQuilts Clubhouse Doors are Open for New Members!

 

Join the Club!

Do you struggle with your fabulous high-end Janome machine? You know it should do X, Y, and Z but you're not entirely sure how? Maybe you don't have a helpful dealer close enough for convenient classes to master your new machine?

Maybe you're staying at home due to Covid? You are ready to really stitch up a storm and learn about your machine and machine techniques at home, but you could use some help.

Been told it's  "operator error"?  You're trying to do it right but you've been left figuring it out on your own. That is super frustrating!

You are not alone! I've heard pleas for help from machine owners just like you over the years and I have an ongoing Janome specific online club just for folks like you!


I help sewing machine owners get the most out of their machine so that they can use it it with confidence and increased creativity.


The Janome M7, one of the newest and most complex machines in the Clubhouse.


The clubhouse is now 
open for new enrollment!

Click here to join!

A Clubhouse member says: 

"Amy, I watched the latest addition to the clubhouse this morning, the video about needle plates etc. Your videos are stellar, I'm not kidding really fantastic! Not just the great camera close-ups but the info you provide is amazing. I have a very good dealer and I have received a great deal of instruction from them, but I learned so many things in that 20 min. video that I simply never heard before. I just wanted to comment on how much I am getting out of the clubhouse. THANKS !" 

Below is a live video discussion I held recently about the clubhouse...


Hi! I'm Amy Johnson and I was once right in your shoes. I bought my first big Janome machine from the sweetest gentleman, a Janome dealer who was in his mid-eighties. He was a well-respected man in the community and in regards to machine repair, but he didn't actually sew or have anyone to do machine instruction beyond how to thread it.


I was on my own and did the best I could with the manual. Being pretty much self taught, I tried a few things out on my Janome 6600 that wasn't quite meant for my machine...in particular, a ruler foot made for a frame-mounted machine. That got my blog and YouTube videos some serious attention. Eventually, I became an instructor for Craftsy, and the next thing you know, I became a Janome dealer when my Janome dealer retired.


My mechanically-inclined husband Eric became my Janome certified machine tech and has built quite a reputation for solving machine issues and keeping machines of all kinds running smoothly.

We joke that he knows the guts, and I know the glory of sewing machines!


Rhonda says,


"Thanks Amy useful info actually not just useful but valuable I have had Janome machines for years but am learning so much from you. I never knew about the markings on the feet. "


Janome machines are what I know best, so the club is limited to Janome machines of the following models: 15000, 14000,  M7, 9450, 9400, Skylines S9, S7, S6, 6700P,  8900 and 8200. There is an embroidery focused add-on for the combination embroidery machines above, and Janome 500e and 550e machines can also sign up for it. The sewing and embroidery sections of the Clubhouse are priced separately and are not dependent on each other. This helps you stay focused on what you want to learn.


Learning in the AmyQuilts Clubhouse takes place in two ways; the actual Clubhouse site (with a "room" for sewing, and another for embroidery; as well as a private, members-only Facebook group for us to interact as a community and have monthly question and answer periods with me.

Click on the link above and see if this is the right fit for you to get the most out of your machine and your creativity!

Janome Blue Dot Bobbin Case

 Any sewing machine user can tell you that changing the tension that is on the bobbin thread is a lot harder than changing the tension on the top thread. There's no numbers, it's hard to get to, it takes a tiny screw driver for the teeny tiny screw and there's really no way to do it without taking the bobbin case out of the machine.

(Yes, there are a few antique Singers that actually make the bobbin case screw accessible, but that's beside the point)

On a machine that has been properly adjusted and serviced by a sewing machine tech, typically we can balance out the tension by adjusting the top thread:

  • Tighten the top thread tension is just like loosening the bobbin tension.
  • Loosening the top tension is just like tightening the bobbin tension.
But there are a few times when we just need a little less tension on the bobbin thread:

  • When using thicker thread in the bobbin.
  • When doing a technique in which the bobbin tension needs to be looser (as in the case of Free Motion Quilting or doing the Handlook quilting stitch.)
Top tension must be tighter than the bobbin tension? Couldn't we just tighten the top tension?!

Yes! I thoroughly agree. Tighten that top tension....except what if my machine is set on automatic tension and I'm not sure what to move it to?

Excellent question.

And that is why Janome has created the "Blue Dot Bobbin Case" for many of its machines. Pop out the normal bobbin case, often called the red dot bobbin case, and pop in the blue dot bobbin case and viola! You have looser bobbin tension!


Janome's packaging needs an update or two. The one on the left fits a number of newer machines, including the 9mm ones. You can see that the 'dot' is actually a triangle arrow.

It's already pre-set to have a looser than normal bobbin tension.

It's no secret that I'm not a huge fan of the blue dot bobbin case for most Janome machines, but I get asked about it quite often, so it's a good topic for me to pop up here on the blog.

However, I am always a fan of having a second bobbin case for your machine. Not really as a backup, though that can be handy should that need arise. But the blue dot bobbincase can be used for that second bobbin case. Might want to tighten it a bit if using for regular sewing, but it's great if you want to use it for heavier threads in the bottom of your machine (bobbin work, anyone? Love it!) As the name implies, it's got a visible blue dot of color on it so that you don't get confused about which bobbin case is which! (Yes, you could get a regular bobbin case, mark it accordingly, and adjust the tension yourself too!)

But there are a handful of Janome machines in which their "automatic" tension setting is on the manual tension wheel, and it can actually be easier to change out the bobbin case than it is to find your manual thread tension setting after coming off of the auto setting.

These machines are the Janome 8200, 8900, S6 and S5. There may be some older models with the same issue, but I'm not familiar with them off the top of my head. By changing out the bobbincase for the blue dot one, you can keep the top tension set on the auto setting.

Auto tension on the 8200

Beware! The blue dot bobbin cases come in 3 versions: One for the smaller top loading machines without a thread cutter button (on the right in the first image of this post),    machines with the thread cutter button, including high shank 7mm machines and 9mm high shank machines, and the Janome M7 Continental. Yes, the M7 has a whole different bobbin case due to it's improved bobbin thread level sensor and different bobbin case, hence a different blue dot bobbin case. Check with your Janome dealer to make sure you get the right version, Or order from me at AmyQuilts.com where I have a comprehensive list of machines that take which type.

Finally, some people are just terrified to change their tension on their machine. Yes, it's true. It's my mission to take this fear out of using a sewing machine, but until I can get my message out there to the masses, it is a welcome thing for some folks to be told to change to the blue dot bobbin case for free motion quilting.

Do you struggle to understand tension on your higher end Janome machine? Want to learn to use your machine with more confidence and to explore your creativity? You might be a good fit for the AmyQuilts Clubhouse! This is my private, paid membership for owners of certain Janome machines, including all the current bigger models: S6, S7, S9, 6700P, 8200,8900, 9450/9400, 14000, 15000 and Janome M7. With video lessons on the basics, commonly used techniques, specialty feet, embroidery (separate section for the machines with embroidery and includes the 500 and 550e), it's like having a virtual local dealer! With the private facebook group, and over 250 members it's like going to a virtual Janome Club meeting...except we're not crowded.

Check it out and sign up for notification of when I open the doors to new members by going to the Clubhouse page.